


Somewhere Only We Know

by Tennyo



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 15x20, Dean Winchester Dies, Dean gets the Heaven he truly deserves, F/M, Fix-It, Grieving, Kissing, M/M, My therapy is writing apparently, Not Beta Read, Proper Hunter's funeral, Sam POV, Sam's life after, Still, The Barn Scene, The Harvelles get the respect they deserve, end of 15x19, romantic reciprocation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27770488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tennyo/pseuds/Tennyo
Summary: Misha said we can write our own ends, so that's what I'm gonna do.Some therapy in the form of a fix-it for the fifteen year show's end.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester
Comments: 12
Kudos: 54





	1. 19

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by the missing water tower that was both on Becky’s table and in TapeBall’s instagram feed.  
> Fix-it fic to add to the piles of others.
> 
> Ended up writing some end of 19 feelings because that's how I roll.
> 
> Will be at least 2 chapters, maybe three, depending on how much I do with the first half of 20.

**The Town of Harlan, after everyone was returned:**

Dean and Sam watch as the town around them continues on like nothing happened, maybe even a little calmer than before. Jack carries an air of serenity. Sam stumbles through trying to ask what Jack is now. 

Dean doesn’t care, he just wants to go home and to make sure everyone else is back where they belong. But Jack declines. 

“Dean, I’m not coming back home.” Wait, what? “In a way I— I’m already there.”

Dean’s trying to wrap his head around Jack's talk about being “Everywhere” and what that means. 

“I learned from you, and from my mother, and Castiel—” 

Dean interrupts. “Wait, where is Cas? Can you...?” 

Jack gives him a smile. “I’ll make sure he’s safe, Dean. But I can’t guarantee that will be... here.”

Swallowing back a surge of emotion, Dean listens to Jack finish his speech. After Jack says goodbye and dissolves into white mist, Sam says his goodbye while Dean tries to hold himself together. With the dog named Miracle resting in the back seat, he stays silent during the trip home while Sam handles their phones as calls start coming in from the silo, from Jody, and Sam brushes them all aside when Eileen facetimes him. Dean smiles bitterly. At least Sam still has something good. The rest of the trip home he distracts himself with fielding incoming phone calls, saying they’ll all be filled in later, that Jack saved the day and they still need to process it all too.

Back in the bunker, the silence feels almost deafening. Sam manages to get off the phone with Eileen long enough to sort through sending out mass messages to everyone in their circle of contacts. By the time he’s done, it’s late and Dean’s halfway through a bottle of whiskey, minus the glass. 

“Dean, I—” 

“Not now, Sam.” 

“Can I at least get you to finish the bottle in your room?”

Dean stares at the amber liquid in the glass bottle. “I’ll think about it.”

“Okay, Dean, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Dean doesn’t look up, he just gives a half nod that dismisses Sam, who will probably get back in touch with Eileen as soon as he’s got the door closed. He should be happy for Sam, he really should. But all he can think about is Cas’s confession circling round and around in his brain.

The next morning he wakes up face-down on the table, head throbbing and back sore. At least it’s not on the floor this time. The bottle is empty, so he’ll need to get up and get another for some hair of the dog. Speaking of dog, there’s a furry warmth curled at his feet, and oh yeah, they’ll need some stuff like food and bowls if they’re going to keep Miracle. 

At the sound of Dean’s pained groans, Miracle puts his front paws on Dean’s lap and thoroughly gives him a tongue bath. That finally breaks the dam and Dean grabs onto the dog, letting out deep sobs, tears dampening the tan fur. When it finally subsides, Dean lets go, only to be assaulted with more smelly dog breath and a wet tongue. 

”Urgh. You stink.” Dean looks down at himself. “I probably do, too. Let’s find you something to eat and then we both deserve showers, huh?” 

Miracle lets out a short whuff, and Dean groans his way out of the chair, stiffly stumbling into the kitchen for coffee and hopes they have some meat he can cook for the dog.

Later, clean and dressed, he finds Sam sitting at the table with their names carved into the top. “I’ve been thinking,” says Sam.

“‘Bout what?”

“About Jack, and… and Cas.”

Not ready to open up about that subject yet, Dean clears his throat and crosses his arms, nodding for Sam to continue. 

“Do you… think we should?” Sam draws a finger along the MW they carved after their mom died. 

It seems fitting, to use the table as a memorial of sorts. Taking his folding knife out of his pocket, the same one Cas used to cut his hand for the sigil, Dean starts carving the C of Cas’s name into the table. He’ll do the whole thing, not just the abbreviation, he deserves that at least. Sam sits and watches until he’s done. Just that action took a lot out of him, so Dean gets up and gestures at the knife. 

“You do Jack’s. I need a drink.”

Sam nods and picks up the knife as Dean beelines for the kitchen. He makes it as far as the steel prep table before he folds in on himself, gasping for air and control. He can’t afford to start crying again, not when Sam will give him that pitying look of his. Dean still hasn’t told Sam exactly what happened back in the archive room. It’s still too raw. After a few deep breaths, Dean has his shit together enough to grab a couple of beers and head back to the library. 

He hands Sam a beer and they sit on the edge of the table, both Castiel and Jack fresh additions to their small collection. 

Sam breathes out. “It’s pretty quiet.”

“Hmm.” Dean raises his beer, his voice hoarse when he speaks. “To everyone that we lost along the way.” 

Sam lets out a distressed huff, and Dean starts drinking, hoping to drown out his own thoughts. Jack only brought back those who were snapped by Chuck. So many others have died, but Jack at least did that. 

After taking a drink and thinking, Sam says, "You know, with Chuck not writing our story anymore, we get to write our own. There’s just you and me, going wherever the story takes us.”

And Eileen, Dean thinks. But not Cas. “Finally free,” Dean says bitterly. 

Thinking back to a lesson he learned from Frank Deveraux years ago, Dean puts on a smile, pats Sam on the back, and grabs his keys so they can get some supplies for the bunker, and for Miracle.

Out on the road, the radio plays “Running on Empty” by Jackson Browne.

> Running on empty  
> Running blind  
> Running into the sun  
> But I’m running behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've already got part of chapter 2 written, I just need to fill in some ep 20 events without actually watching the episode.  
> Yeah. Anyway, should have the next chapter up within 24 hours.  
> (edit)  
> haha hahaha chapter 2 within 24 hours.  
> HAHAHAHA  
> five chapters and six hours later.


	2. One Last Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first half of episode 20, reworked to include some missing people. See notes on where to stop for the barn scene if you want to skip it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wanting to skip the barn (tw: DEATH) scene, skip between the two sets of * * * * * before and after the line breaks.  
> I heavily skimmed the whole speech, but it's from Sam's POV so there's still tears.  
> I have Dean a proper Hunter's Burial, so I've left that after the line break for those who need the closure.

A few weeks have passed, and the Winchesters have settled into a routine. They get up, do chores, clean guns, eat, exercise, sleep, repeat. Eileen’s come over a few times to spend the night, but Sam hasn’t really left for much because he wants to keep an eye on Dean. 

The dog has helped, but Sam remembers the look on Dean’s face and how he’d bound up the stairs thinking Cas was on the other side. He hates that will be the last time Dean will hear his voice. 

At first, they kept waiting for some kind of sign that Cas was alive again, in spite of Jack’s warning. But as days turned into weeks, Sam saw the light fade in Dean’s eyes. It’s why he’s made Dean the sole person responsible for Miracle. The dog sleeps in his room, has food and water bowls there. Sam pretends like he doesn’t see the way Dean cradles the dog in his arms and rocks, face buried in the soft tan fur. Fur very similar to a certain trenchcoat. He still doesn’t know what happened with Cas, and hasn’t felt like it’s his place to ask.

Eileen said it would just take time, and to be there for support, letting Dean know there are people here for him. But it’s been hard, with everyone else having settled in across the country, to really show Dean that network of support. That, and Dean spends more time in his room when Eileen is here. 

Sometimes he wonders. While he doesn’t like to think about his brother’s sex life, he’d always thought Dean and Cas were in an unconventional relationship. But he’d never asked then, either. He wishes he had. He knows Dean loved Cas, and Cas loved Dean, he could see it on their faces any time they were in the same room. And many times they weren’t even together. But sometimes he wondered if THEY knew it. Dean and Cas were the epitome of the relationship status “it’s complicated”.

Maybe what Dean needs is another hunt to get his head on straight again. But it’s been spookily quiet. Almost like whatever Jack did calmed down the world for a little while. Fresh out of a shower after a run, Sam heads to the library and finds Dean at his computer, intently staring at something, Miracle in the chair next to him, never very far.

In a roundabout way, Sam asks if Dean’s found something. He has. Along with the vaguest hints of a hunt, Dean found a pie festival in Ohio. If it snaps Dean out of his funk for a while, Sam’s all for it.

They leave Miracle with Eileen.

Once in Akron, they stop at the pie fest so Dean can load up on his favorite treat. Dean’s step lightens, and Sam relaxes onto a bench, surveying the people around him. He knows Dean’s putting on a face, trying to convince Sam to not worry about him so much. But after practically being raised by his brother and fifteen years hunting together, you learn each other’s tells. 

For instance, when Dean settles next to him with an enormous box and six slices of pie, he asks Sam what’s wrong. So he brings up Cas. And Jack. Watching Dean deflect, calling him an Eeyore, Sam decides to take matters into his own hands, by shoving a slice of pie into Dean’s face. Something loosens inside himself, and he lets out the first good laugh he’s had in weeks. 

He needed that.

They stay overnight in Akron to study the threads of a possible case, when the call comes in over the scanner. The next morning confirms their suspicions, that what they’re dealing with aren’t normal humans, and Dean seems to have connected the dots. Sam’s glad to let him take the lead. They take an educated guess at where the “vamp-mimes” are headed next, and get lucky in the suburbs of Canton, bag one of the vampires, question him.

It’s bad, and it reminds him of the case where they found Alex. Raising kids to be used as food. Sam shudders. 

They don’t waste any time finding the barn. Dean’s spirits seem to be high, and Sam has to put his foot down about using throwing stars. They still aren’t sure how many vamps are in the nest, and they can’t risk accidentally hurting each other or the kids with a bad throw. 

* * * * *

* * *

Finding the two kids is easy enough, and for a minute Sam thinks they might escape without a fight until they see a row of masked figures standing at the entrance. There’s at least half a dozen, and some are bigger than Sam. This is gonna be a close one. After sending the two kids out the back, they engage the vampires. 

They manage to get two right away, clean decapitations, before they’re both thrown into a scuffle. They try to keep track of each other’s positions while fighting, and Sam gets at least one more before being overtaken and knocked into a daze and Dean gets pinned by two of the brutes. A woman walks into the barn, talks to Dean, who she seems to recognize. She says her name is Jenny and long time no see, but Sam can’t place her. They’ve hunted a lot of monsters, after all.

While the vamps are occupied with their leader’s conversation with Dean, Sam stealthily reaches for his dropped machete. As soon as Jenny bares her fangs, Sam surges forward and chops her head off cleanly. 

The fighting resumes, three against two. Sam’s dealing with two, but he sees Dean drop his machete. This is going to go south really fast, so Sam takes a risk and swings wildly, getting half of one’s head, the blade sticking in the shoulder of the second. Once that one’s dispatched, he turns to see Dean backed against a post, the large, masked vampire looming over him. Another swing and that one’s down too. 

Sam scans the barn for movement, then puts his machete away, turning to Dean. “Alright. Let's go find those kids, get them outta here before more show up.” 

“Sam… I don't… Mmh. I don't think I'm going anywhere.” 

Dean’s voice sounds wrong. Sam turns, giving a look at his brother who still hasn’t moved from his slump against the post. 

“What are you talking about?”

“There's something in my...Something in my back.”

Oh shit, oh no. 

“It feels like it's right through me.”

Sam looks Dean over, then feels behind him, feels the warm blood. His hand is covered with it. He wants to move Dean, but his brother says it's straight through him. While it’s not poking out of Dean’s chest, Sam knows the damage a deep puncture can do if they remove the object. Dean’s pinned, like a butterfly. But he’s gotta do something. Maybe there’s someone who can help, or something in the first aid kit.

Dean’s breath is already gurgling, indicating at least a punctured lung. Something survivable if he can only get Dean help, stop the bleeding. But Dean asks him to stay with him, and Sam does. 

Dean gives a fatalistic speech about how he always expected to go out this way, and Sam feels like he’s in a waking nightmare, like he’s in another one of Chuck’s bad scenarios. He’s trying so hard to listen to Dean’s words while internally he’s screaming at himself to just _WAKE UP._

Sam says he’ll find a way to fix this, like they always do, but Dean says “No.” That he doesn’t want to be brought back. Makes Sam agree. He doesn’t want to, but these may be Dean’s final moments and he can’t tear himself away. 

Dean goes on to talk about when they were kids, growing up, Sam’s fight with Dad, and when Dean came for him at Stanford. Why is Dean wasting time talking when Sam can be getting help? In his mind he prays fervently for Jack, even though he’s supposed to be hands-off. He HAS to try. 

Through Dean’s hitching, gurgling breaths and Sam’s sobs, Dean tells him how proud he is, Sam says he can’t do it alone, and Dean says he’ll never be alone. He has Eileen, and he should find the life he deserves, and to never give up, always keep fighting. 

Sam can barely see through the stream of tears, and Dean’s holding him here, making him witness his brother’s dying breaths. His breath gets more ragged, each hitched with pain and effort. 

Slowly, with effort, Dean asks Sam to tell him it’s okay to let go. But he can’t, it’s too hard. Not when they finally got freedom. Dean asks again, his voice growing faint. 

He manages to choke through the tears, “Dean…It's okay. You can go now.”

With one last breath, Dean says goodbye, and drops his head on Sam’s chest, his body limp. All Sam can do is cry, holding onto his brother’s dead body. Again. For the last time.

It takes him a moment to realize he’s in a dangerous place, and there are two kids that need him to get them out of here. So he carefully lifts his brother off the hook, lowering him to the ground, then goes looking for the two boys, who are cowering in a back corner. He gets them out and safe, then comes back for Dean. 

* * *

* * * * *

On the way out of the area, sun rising in the East behind him, Sam makes a call to Jody, tells her he’ll need help. Explains what happened to Dean, currently wrapped up in the back seat of the Impala. It’s all he can do to stay focused on the road and make the call, so he leaves it up to her to make the arrangements. 

He doesn’t make it back to the bunker, and he wouldn’t have made it to Sioux Falls without the help of other hunters finding him and taking over driving. They hold the hunter’s funeral in an empty field near Sioux Falls, and nearly every hunter they know, and some they don’t, show up. Eileen is there by his side, and she’s the only thing that keeps him from collapsing as Dean’s body is consumed by the flames of the pyre. 

He hates to admit it, but Sam insisted on contacting Rowena before they were allowed to set up the pyre. He had to know where Dean ended up. It was a relief to hear that she didn’t have him, and that she had it on good authority that he was being taken care of “good and proper” up in Heaven.

Sam and Eileen don’t spend long at the wake, just enough time for them to receive well-wishes and have the toast. Thanking Jody again for what feels like the hundredth time, they make their way back to the bunker. 

He has to honor his brother’s wishes, but he can’t just give up on everything they’ve created. Sam is determined to find a way to both follow his brother’s wishes and continue his legacy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who skipped the barn and can't manage to read about the wake: They hold it outside Sioux Falls and tons of hunters show up to celebrate Dean's life. Eileen is with him, and after the wake they go back to the bunker together.  
> Next will be a bit of what happens after from Sam's POV before switching to Heaven.


	3. Sam Lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief interlude of Sam's life After, given proper resolution, before we join Dean in Heaven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be combined with Dean's heaven, but the Heaven section has grown past the original 400 word ficlet I started out with in notes, so I'll get back to you shortly with that part.

After Dean’s death, Sam does what he does best. Avoids his emotions by diving into his work. Thank goodness Eileen is an understanding woman, or she would have given up on him a dozen times over by the time they get the bunker set up as a proper hunter’s headquarters. Interestingly enough, Claire comes in to help, although Jody convinces her to stay in school; so until she graduates from college, it’s only from a distance except on school breaks. She says she owes it to both Dean and Cas. 

Some of the Alternate World's hunters come back, claiming that they had trouble integrating to this new world, so they find unoccupied rooms, help keep the place running. 

Dean’s room… it gets locked up. Miracle’s bowls get moved to the kitchen, and Sam cleaned it up a little after… well, after. He’d found employment applications, and a signed contract. Dean was planning on going back to work outside of hunting. Sam didn’t do well for a few days after discovering that. 

Charlie even chips in a bit, just as smart as her counterpart from this world, but is ready to find a life outside of hunting, with Stevie. They’re still part of the network, just as support, with a weapons cache for hunters in need.

The return of hunters to the bunker helps stimulate the economy of Lebanon, and some modest growth of the town occurs over the next few years. Sam gets a job teaching at the local high school, and he finds it rewarding. After marrying Eileen, they build a house on the edge of town near the bunker, and he’s overjoyed when she tells him she’s pregnant. It took him a few years to get to a good place mentally, but even then, he cries when she suggests they name the baby after his brother. 

As their son grows, Sam finds true fulfillment in his life. He has a rewarding life, a family. Yes, he still misses his brother, but he knows Dean’s either happy up in Heaven or raising hell there. He’s helped the new Men of Letters bunker become a place of learning, training, and refuge for hunters, some witches, and even a few “good” monsters like Garth. It’s the center of a nationwide network, and Sam pledges to keep it alive. 

Little Dean grows and takes after his mother in looks, and Sam tells him about his legacy, what his family used to do for a living. On Dean’s 18th birthday, he gets a tattoo on his forearm both for safety and to honor that legacy, of the antipossession sigil. 

As they grow older, Sam retires, leaving both teaching and the bunker to those with better eyes and more able bodies than himself. Eileen has a stroke and passes away soon after, and Sam finds himself alone yet again. Young Dean is out finding his place in the world, and he refuses to take that away from his son. As Sam’s health worsens, with a bad fall and a broken hip, he finally calls his son to help him. He knows he doesn’t have much time left, and he only hopes that Heaven has changed for the better since the last time he was there. 

They’ve cleared the living room for Sam’s bed, facing the mantel where he can gaze on his extended family, There’s a portrait of him, Dean, Mary and John, another of him, Eileen and their son, as well as photos of Jody and the girls, Garth and his family, as well as various other people whom have become close over the decades. There's one small photo of Castiel in a cowboy hat, the only one Sam could find of his friend.

He’s fading, the end is soon now. His son leans against the edge of the bed, holding his hand, all grown up. You’d be proud, Sam thinks as he closes his eyes for the last time, content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: The Heaven Dean deserves!


	4. In Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean walks into heaven and finds a roadhouse, some changes, and an angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so there's one more chapter trying this all off.   
> Enjoy some Schmoop.

Dean wakes up in the middle of a field, golden afternoon light illuminating his surroundings. Huh. He wonders what memory this is, tries to think of a field that might have looked like this, but can only think of his grave, the first time he died. But there’s no blasted ground, no felled trees. And no angels. So he gets up, dusts off, and heads down a narrow path to what looks to be a shack in the not too far off distance. Not that distance seems to matter here, he is neither tired or thirsty or in pain. 

As he gets closer to the building, it seems hauntingly familiar, and as he rounds its corner, he finds Bobby sitting in a straight-backed chair, drinking a beer, a cooler at his feet. The building is none other than Harvelle’s Roadhouse, and Dean looks around in wonder. 

“What memory is this?”

Bobby huffs. “It ain't, ya idjit.”

“It has to be. 'Cause the last I heard, you... you were in Heaven's lock-up.”

“Was, before. Now I'm not.”

Dean looks at him, confused. “That kid of yours, before he went... wherever, made some changes here. Busted my ass out. And then he…Well, he set some things right.”

Dean sits down and listens to Bobby explain how Jack turned Heaven free-range. He pays attention as Bobby points out a few notable people Dean might want to check in on later, and he’s surprised to find his dad’s up here with everyone else, too.

“It ain't just Heaven, Dean. It's the Heaven you deserve.” 

Dean smiles at Bobby, the warmth in his heart of seeing the old coot happy calming him.

“Although you couldn’t have waited a decade or two?” Bobby asks before taking another sip of beer, opening the cooler and hands a cold bottle to Dean. 

Dean takes a sip, and a wave of nostalgia overwhelms him at the taste. He never liked this particular brand, but it reminds him of the first one he ever shared with his dad. 

“It’s almost perfect.” He sets the beer down. “So Jack did all this?”

“Well... Cas helped.”

Dean smiles, lets the contentment settle. Then it hits him. "Wait, he's here? Where?"

Bobby replies, “Why don't you check inside?”

Rushing into Harvelle's, Dean is greeted by faces of friends and family he’s lost over the years. Ellen, Jo, Ash, Pastor Jim, and so many more, like they were waiting for his arrival. He gets both hugs and admonishments for tapping out so young, but the one face in the crowd he’s looking for, he doesn’t see. Once he’s able to disengage from the throng, Dean steps back out into the golden sunshine, Bobby still sitting in the same place Dean left him.

“See? It's a big, new world out there.”

“But what about…” He’s almost afraid of saying the name. 

“He'll be along. Time up here, it's... it's different. You got everything you could ever want... or need or... dream. So, I guess the question is... what are you gonna do now, Dean?”

Looking away from Bobby, Dean finds the Impala, glistening like new, the old Kansas plate on her bumper. “I think I'll go for a drive.”

As Dean makes his way to the car, Bobby tells him to have fun. He gets in, and the seats are sun-warm, but not scorching hot. The keys are in the ignition and he starts her up listening to that growling pur. 

“Hey, Baby. Let’s go exploring.”

What used to be two-lane blacktop is now a smooth, dusty single lane, surrounded by trees, fields, and more of that perfect, golden, afternoon sunlight. He swings by Rufus’ place to say hi, makes a brief stop to see his parents, and thinks hard to find himself in slightly different, almost suburban looking surroundings, to say hello to Jimmy and Amelia, to tell them how Claire is doing. After that,he swings by Charlie’s, meets her mom, and they invite him for dinner, which is delicious. 

After that, he can’t think of where else to go, but figures he has all of eternity to figure it out, so he just cruises, Baby cruising along, chrome shining. Dean’s been so many places he can’t remember the landscape, so he’s given up trying to place his surroundings. Making his way up an incline, Dean sees a water tower up at the top, and a figure walking towards it. They’re wearing a blue suit, and have short, dark hair. Heart in his throat, Dean roars to the crest of the hill and slams the brakes, sending a swirl of dust around the car. 

The figure hasn’t stopped and is still facing away from him, but he’s gotta know. “Cas?” he calls out.

The figure turns, and there he is. Cas, just like Dean remembers, except minus the coat. Confusion clouds his face for a moment, before it morphs to concern. “Dean, what are you doing here so soon?"

The absurdity of the question asked so seriously causes Dean to laugh out loud, as if he hasn’t been asked that at least twenty different times since he got here. He shrugs. “Occupational hazard." 

Cas starts to get fidgety, looking around, not able to look at Dean. Before Cas can come up with either a response or another question, Dean takes the chance to close the distance between them and wraps him up in a tight hug.

"It's good to see you, man. I missed you."

It takes a few seconds before Cas responds, clinging to Dean's jacket, eyes closed tight. "You too, Dean."

After a few moments, Dean pulls back, brushing his fingertips along Castiel's jaw. "I, uh, you left before I could tell you."

"You don't need to, Dean." Cas looks down and away.

"No, I do." Dean opens and closes his mouth a couple times, gathering his thoughts. "You changed me too, Cas. I, I've wanted something I didn't think I could have, too."

Cas looks up at him in confusion, and Dean keeps talking, he has to get this out.

"Knowing you, it changed me too. You helped me have faith, Cas. And I wasn't ready for you to say goodbye."

Dean takes a deep breath, places a hand on Cas' shoulder. "I love you too."

"Dean,"

"No, Cas. It's your turn to listen." Dean smiles, lighting up his whole face, unexplainable happiness suffusing his being. "Or maybe I should just show you."

He grabs Cas by the lapels of his suit and pushes him up against the structure under the water tank, pressing his lips to Castiel's, something he’s wanted to do for a very long time. If time could stop in this place, that’s how it feels, their lips pressed together, sharing a simple action, expressing their love. 

Eventually, Dean pulls away, leaving both of them gasping and smiling like idiots.

“Do you get it now?" he asks, pressing their foreheads together

"I do, Dean."

Pulling back, Dean smooths down the lapels of Cas' suit with his hands. "So you wanna go for a drive?"

Cas nods. "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere we want."


	5. What They Deserve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter in Heaven, as the story comes to a close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Piles Shmoop upon you*

In the car, they intertwine their fingers, hands resting between them. As they drive, the light turns a deeper hue, edging closer to sunset. Down the road, they pass by a lake and he stops near a dock, a folding chair and some fishing gear at the end, as if it were waiting for him. It’s a place that has an actual memory, a place in his dreams, one that Cas once visited. 

Dean turns in his seat, the engine idling. “You mind if we stop for a bit?”

Cas smiles at him, his eyes full of fondness. “Whatever you like, Dean. I learned to fish too, you know.”

Out of the car, Dean notices the single folding chair has turned into two adirondacks. His eyebrows raise in admiration. “Is that so? Show me your moves then, Cas.”

They settle into their chairs, and Dean watches Cas cast his line. “Not bad.” 

Cas stares out into the lake’s glistening waters. “I had some time to practice, after we fought. I figured I would try your recommendation for its meditative properties. It wasn’t as relaxing as I’d hoped, but I did stumble on a Djinn while I was there.”

Whistling, Dean casts his line. “So, you wanna tell me how you got out of the Empty?”

Setting down his pole, Cas turns to Dean. “I can’t really explain. I remember being sucked into the Empty, and then… nothing. Then Jack awakened me in Heaven, asking for assistance with restructuring.” 

“Huh.” Dean doesn’t know how to respond to that, but it does raise another question. “So you’re still an angel?”

The question causes Cas to fidget. “Technically. I still have Grace, since Jack asked for my help. But I…” He clears his throat. “I also have a soul.”

That catches Dean’s full attention. “Come again?”

Cas explains that when he awakened in Heaven, that he no longer had a corporeal body. Whatever had happened between his confession and then, there had been some kind of transformation. “I can still do most angelic things, but in order to go back to Earth, I would need a new vessel.”

“Jack couldn’t just make you a new one?” 

Cas looks away again. “He said it was possible, but he needed me here. And… I,” He swallows. “I didn’t think I wanted to hear your answer if I returned. I thought… you didn’t…”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Cas.” Dean slips out of his chair and kneels before the other. “We were both a couple of dumbasses.”

That makes Cas smile, and he looks at his hands in his lap. “Less dumb, less ass.” 

Dean grins. “Does that make us a couple then?”

That earns him a delightfully delicious kiss, Cas holding Dean’s face in his hands. “I love you, Dean Winchester.”

Practically in Cas’s lap, Dean smirks. “And I love you, Castiel angel of… uh, of…”

“I’m your angel, Dean.” Dean’s so full of happiness, he gives Cas another, deeper kiss. 

They never catch any fish on the dock, and Dean couldn’t tell you how long they’re out there, but the sunset glow eventually shifts to a cloudless night, the sky full of stars. Their chairs get traded out for a soft blanket, and they lie there, fingers entwined, gazing upward.

“Hey Cas?” 

Cas turns his head to look at him. “Yes, Dean?”

"So… while driving around in Baby is fun and all, do you think I… _we,_ could have a house?"

Cas turns onto his side. “Is that what you would like?”

“I dunno.” Dean fidgets with Cas’ fingers. “It seems nice, having a place others can visit, like I did with family and friends after I got here.” 

Cas places his hand on Dean’s chin, making him meet his eyes. “Whatever makes you happiest, Dean.”

That causes Dean to snort and curl into Cas’ side, hiding his face. “You can’t just say shit like that, man.” He stays there for a moment, breathing in Cas’s scent, listening to the gentle lapping of the water below them. “I want you to like it, too,” his voice muffled by Cas’s shirt.”

Cas presses a kiss to his hair. "That would make me extremely happy, Dean.”

They take their time finding the perfect spot, which ends up being near the water tower where they reunited. The home starts out small, just a one-bedroom with a bath, kitchen, living room, not much bigger than most of the motel rooms Dean was so used to living out of. But it eventually included a garage for Baby, a dining area for friends and family, the living room became more of a den, and they added a second room in which they could both enjoy hobbies without cluttering the rest of the house.

The front yard went from green grass with a picket fence, to a flower garden with a winding stone path. Miracle soon joined their little family unit, and one day, while Dean was washing Baby for the sheer enjoyment of it. Eileen walked up to him. They embraced, and Dean led her inside so they could catch up, Eileen full of stories of love, family, and fulfillment with Sam. It made Dean happy to know Sam finally got the life he deserved, and still kept the hunter network thriving. 

He realized, if Eileen passed, Sam might be along soon. And Dean knew the perfect place to meet him. 

“Hey Cas? You wanna go for a drive?” 

Having long learned to read Dean’s mind about such matters, Cas asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to go alone?”

Dean pulled him into his arms. “I want Sam to see I’m happy, and I can’t think of a better way than to have you with me.”

On the drive to the location, Dean turned on the radio, and “Carry On Wayward Son” drifted from the speakers. Now that he thought about it, the band playing it were probably all in Heaven, too. Dean wasn’t in any rush as he pulled to a stop in the middle of a secluded bridge spanning a stream. There wasn’t any real significance to the location, but he’d passed it on one of his heaven wanderings, and he found it peaceful. A perfect landing spot for his little brother. 

Cas stayed in the car, giving them space for their reunion, and the notes of the song drifted on the breeze. Dean was leaning against the railing, admiring the view, when he could sense Sam’s landing. 

“Hey, Sammy.” He turned around, and there was Sam, just like he looked when Dean last saw him, but wearing the clothes he wore when Dean first picked him up from Stanford. 

Dean couldn’t keep the grin from his face as Sam said, “Dean.” 

They embraced in a tight hug, and as they separated, Dean saw Cas standing by the passenger door of the car. He waved Cas on over, and Sam hugged Cas just as tight. They had a lot to catch up on, but they had time and a nice long drive back to Harvelle’s, where they’d arranged for everyone to meet Sam.

One arm around Sam’s shoulder, the other around Cas’s waist, Dean looked out over the flowing river as the last notes of the song played, _“Don’t you cry no more.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this, it started out with approximately 400 words, rewriting Dean's landing in Heaven, and here I am about 6k words later. In less than a day.  
> This breaks a very long writer's block streak for me, when I couldn't manage a single story.  
> I hope you enjoyed my little fix-it.  
> It helped me find closure with this fifteen year long story.  
> I doubt I'll be able to write another SPN canon-based fic again.  
> Any more I write for these characters will most likely be AUs.  
> Remember, in fiction, characters live as long as you have stories to tell for them.


End file.
